If You Can't Beat 'Em, Eat 'Em!
by Blu Kirbita
Summary: I fail at titles. This is my first fan-fic, and it's a re-write. What happens when a Seventh Grade girl wakes up to find that she's completely different? What happens when she finds that she's not alone? Minor anime references. Rated K Plus for darkness.
1. Preface

*???, ???'s point of view*

I had been watching them for some time, trying to scope out the perfect one- the perfect human, of course. Out of the thousands I had followed from around their tiny star, the choice was hard, but… I could only choose one to start the destruction. I had chosen; She would be the perfect specimen. Everything about her was flawless for my plan. Absolutely flawless. I couldn't see how anything could go wrong with a subject as ideal as this. Her personality was perfect, too- someone who would never be able to do such things. Someone who cringed at the very _thought_ of making someone unhappy. And someone who was attracted to _him_. I shuddered at the mere thought of something like _that_ happening again. It ruined my good mood just to _think_ about what he had done. But no: This was my new empire, and there was no way for _him_ to even come here, much less meddle in my affairs!

I had, of course, made preparations for the take-over of this new world. A new star meant a new demon beast to use to start it all. My surprisingly nimble servant had been created for such a thing. Humanoid in appearance, he resembled something like what she would become. And the pain and suffering she brought would bring me enough power to take care of things myself.

I was planning the start of another demon beast to even further help my great conquest. But such a plan as I had was impossible for me to carry out in such a state. Which was why I needed her, which was why I had created him to help me.

The "bomb" would be dropped tonight. I relished the expectation, as the dominoes were lining up exactly according to plan.

The fun would begin very shortly, and I was ready for it.


	2. Ch 1: All it Takes is a Dream

*Earth, my point of view*

I still remember the day it all started. I was in Seventh Grade- only 13. Tall for my age, my hair was a very dark brown and my skin was very pale, with the occasional freckle. My eyes were grayish-blue, and I wore a pair of blue glasses because I was very nearsighted- it had probably been from becoming a book addict at such a young age of three or four, which was when I had learned to read. People called me beautiful, but I was too modest to admit it. But how I looked wasn't important to the plan. It was who I was, deep down, and who I had the possibility to become.

I've always been an optimist, which sometimes drove people crazy. And I've always been very shy and afraid of negative opinions, kind of like a little bunny rabbit. I had been a Kirby fan ever since the age of seven, when my grandparents had purchased Kirby Tilt 'n Tumble for the Gameboy Color for my birthday. Or maybe it started before that; I can't really say officially, but I have found a sheet of Kirby drawings from when I was very young, probably four to seven years old.

My name is Emily Stone. I was a bit chubby, and I had never been interested in sports. Books were my friends, and I made friends easily. My brothers had first lured me into video games through N64's "Super Smash Bros" and the Playstation's "Spyro the Dragon."

I never knew that I was being watched, but I can tell you what happened the day my adventure started.

It was a school morning, fairly boring in itself. I went to school, came back, and had homework to do. Nothing of any importance happened until that evening, when I had gotten this weird feeling that I was being watched. I didn't say anything because it was getting late and I didn't want to upset anyone: I just thought my mind was playing tricks on me.

I fell asleep faster than normal, but it was not at all pleasant. A nightmare had started. A pair of eyes was boring into me, and all around was a sickly color purple. A voice, catlike in quality, was speaking to me.

"Hello, Emily. I trust that you are well?"

I didn't answer.

"You have been called for service in becoming an important member of a royal army."

"Of whose?" My curiosity was getting the better of me.

"The name you will find out soon enough."

Before I got the chance to ask another question, I was jolted awake and found myself staring face-to-face with what appeared to be another human. But something was different. It was much too wide, for one, and its expression was completely soulless. Narrow red eyes stared at me, and I saw that it was holding something in its right hand.

I'm terrified of needles. Always have been and always will be. I nearly fainted when I saw one in his hand. I'm afraid of seeing blood, being in pain, and getting shots, so this wasn't exactly my lucky day.

In a matter of moments- before I had time to scream or react- the world went dark.

I heard the voice again.

"Welcome to a dream from which you will never awaken. Nighty-night!"

*??? Again, ???'s Point of View*

Things were all going according to plan. Within a week or so, I could start the next phase of my plan. My minion was successful in completing his orders, and so now all I had to do was wait.

Within no time at all, the second phase was underway. As I carried out my plans, though… Something had changed.

Something was definitely not right anymore, but I could not, for all my skill and intelligence and cunning and power, figure out what it was. I had but one clue- something had gone wrong with the girl.

*Earth, My point of view again*

The days that followed were dark and pointless, and, try as I might, I could not awaken to see what was happening. It was like a long, dreamless sleep, even though I knew that my body was very awake.

After a few days, though, everything slowly started to change. What was happening to me was becoming less fuzzy, like it was all going to be over soon. With that, though, came pain. The more conscious I was, the more pain I felt. I was very grateful that after a while, it subsided and I woke up.

I was numb and could not move (besides blinking,) so I stared up at the ceiling. The fan was on. After a while of staring into space, I realized how tired I still was and went back to sleep.

This time, however, there was no pain, and my dreams were the best I'd had in months.

When I woke up again, I felt strange. Not bad, just… Different.

I wiggled my arms and sat up. Something was weird, although I couldn't quite point it out.

Then it hit me.

I didn't believe it when my brain first told me, but as I looked around, it was quickly becoming more apparent.

The first clue had been that two large blue things attached to me were now somewhat blocking my vision. I wiggled them and found them to be…feet. From my observations, I had realized that they were connected directly to my body.

I tried standing on them, and I was mildly surprised to see that they supported me. I stretched my arms and yawned. It was a high-pitched noise, kind of like that of a dog, but for some reason I didn't find it the least bit strange that it was coming from me.

I cautiously took a step forward on my bed. My steps were bouncier than normal, almost like I was half-skipping. I sidled to the left a few steps, and saw my reflection in the glass of my mirror.

My features were not the ones I remembered. However, the longer I looked at them, the more I saw myself in them. I was too confused to feel any other emotion. Maybe it was just that my curiosity was so strong that I didn't notice any of my other feelings yet.

My body was perfectly spherical in shape, with smooth, flawless skin that was such a light blue color that it almost looked white. My arms were short and stumpy, each one less than a half foot long, and with no fingers or even a visible way of knowing where the arm stopped and the hand started. My feet were two big oval shapes when looked at from below me, and they were a nice shade of blue that I found almost comforting. Though it was a cool color, it seemed so warm and friendly to me. From where my feet connected, they gracefully sloped down, getting wider until they formed a big flattish oval at the bottom. But it was my face that I noticed first.

Two vertical ovals for eyes took up almost half of the front of my body. The colors inside were thickly outlined in black, which contrasted with my light skin. Near the top of each oval was another oval that was white. Below that was a grayish-blue crescent shape. There was an even thicker outline of black dividing the two, so that the white was at the top, and the blue was at the bottom. Near the top of my eyes were two thick black crescents that came out from the top and swooped upward. I scowled at my new eyelashes, and I quickly rushed into the bathroom, coming out later without them. _That's more like it,_ I thought to myself as I clambered back on my bed and looked at my reflection again.

Below my eyes was a small black dot for a mouth, although its shape was becoming more of a surprised upside-down triangle the more I gawked at my reflection.

Two faint horizontal blue ovals, not quite as dark as my feet, framed my face. They were dark enough to be noticed, but faint enough to look like they had been airbrushed on.

A revelation came to me.

_Oh my cow, my face is _adorable_! No, no… Wait… It's not my _face_ that is adorable- It's my entire self!_

A new feeling was present now, and the best way I could describe it was "squealy".

Oddly enough, my reaction was now a small squeal, like that of a little girl who got the doll she had always wanted for her birthday.

_I can't explain it, but… I'm happy. …Maybe I shouldn't try to explain it…_

My squeal attracted some attention from the outside world. I heard footsteps in front of the door, and voices talking. The first was definitely my mom, and the second, a deep gruff voice, was obviously my dad.

"Did you hear that noise coming from Emily's room?"

"Yes."

"Do you think we should check it out?"

I felt my heart thud hard and fast from a place that I could not identify. _Them? Why right now?_ I was becoming nervous now.

My dad answered my mom.

"Maybe…"

"I'm worried about her, you know. I know you are too, and I know it might turn out to be a stupid idea, but… I'm going to go in there."

The thudding was stronger now, and quicker too. I turned to face the door as I heard her hand turn the handle… …Then I heard her voice as she entered the room.

"Emily? Where are you? Was that you?"

I gulped noisily and turned to face my mom. I felt my natural blush becoming darker as it spread itself out in a dashed pattern of forward slashed lines across my face. My face suddenly felt hot, but I felt trembley and I couldn't move- I was completely frozen with fear. I barely breathed, as if trying to pause time and find a way to change my circumstances. _Why should I be afraid about something I can't control?_ the sanest part of my brain asked. _If it's something that I couldn't have done differently, then why am I worried about it? It's not like I did something to have this come upon myself._ The other side of my brain, though, had a different side to this. _Maybe I _did_ do something to cause this to happen…_

I didn't have long to ponder, though, because before I had time to think of an answer to my own question, my mom happened to see me.

Her words were soft, but there was an edge of concern to them, too.

"Emily, is that you?"

Now that I had to, I finally found my voice.

"Yes… I think I'm myself…"

My voice was a slightly higher pitch than normal, rising from an alto to a smooth soprano tone, and there was a façade of innocence drooping over it that made my voice sound indubitably adorable, like that of a little girl. Although I had always sung (high) soprano in choir, my voice had never reflected it before.

She stepped closer to me and picked me up from where I was precariously balanced on the edge of my bed.

My mother was a short, stout woman, with ecstatically wavy reddish brown hair, glasses, and calm blue eyes. Her skin was almost as pale as mine, although lack of sunblock as a child had damaged her skin a lot, and it was still red in some areas. She was beautiful, though…

I squealed slightly as I felt myself being raised up by her arms.

"Are you okay?" she asked in alarm.

I nodded, or at least tried to, but that was almost impossible to see while I was being held, and so I also answered verbally.

"Yeah, I'm fine. At least, I _think_ I am…"

"How does it feel?"

I was at a loss for words. There were so many ways to put it that I was having trouble picking one…and then something inside of me caused me to choose a different answer than I was thinking about.

I whimpered slightly as a strange feeling came upon me. It was a feeling that I was familiar with, but not in the way it presented itself. I squeezed my eyes shut as a noise came from my body, although this time it was not from my mouth.

My stomach growled. I wasn't sure if I was over dramatizing my reaction to it, but…

There was now a new voice in my head- Still my own, but with some kind of aura that I did not recall having in a thought before.

_Don't think about it, don't think about it… Whatever you do, do _not_ think about it…_

I was thinking about it, barely even noticing the voice as it repeated itself over and over. If I had pictured it at the time, I would have seen a picture of myself curled up into a ball and rocking back and forth on the floor.

I gasped as my discomfort swelled around me, and the feeling condensed itself down into one small word that did not even properly describe the severity of the feeling- Hunger.

I had never felt it like this before- it was so strong now that I was paying attention, that I found that it was nearly controlling me. I tried to break myself away from it, to avoid it, but I found that I was physically and mentally unable to.

The concept of insatiability in itself was something that my mind was incapable to understand on even the best day. Now my mind was being forced to wrap itself around it, and it couldn't take it. Already overloaded with the stress of everything else, my mind collapsed under its own weight and left me unconscious in my mother's arms.

My dream was a confusing pile of everything- it was happy, but nothing about it made sense. Piles of cake and laughing dogs danced before my eyes, and I woke up feeling worse than before I had gone out.

I looked around, somewhat relieved that my brain had been able to (at least somewhat) repair itself and pull away from… _that_.

I was still in my mom's arms, and I felt them swaying back and forth. It was a pleasant distraction, and I welcomed it with open arms, so to speak.

The rocking motion was helping me to focus on what I had decided that I had to do- Try to reflect without going through the stress of what had happened again.

_I really _really_ want a vacation right about now…_

_But that's besides the point,_ another one of the personalities in my head told me.

_Then what is?_ I thought back to myself.

_Tell me everything important that's happened so far._

_Okay…_

_Well? Get on with it._

_I…I think it all really started when I began to feel like someone was watching me-_

_And they were, weren't they?_ the voice interrupted.

_-Yes, someone was, but don't interrupt me._

…_Okay…_

_Now, as I was saying… After I felt like someone was watching me… _I scrapped that thought and tried to form it again._ The next thing that happened was that I had that freaky nightmare, and I woke up to find that _thing_. It went all jabby-happy-fun-time and I was unconscious for a while… At least I think I was, but I'm not sure… Anyway, _I continued, _after some amount of time, I woke up and…and…_

_Get on with it,_ the voice snapped.

…_and I am now what appears to be…_

_Stop stalling._

…_what appears to be a…_

_JUST GET ON WITH IT._ The voice was very impatient now.

…_a kirby…_

…_or something related,_ it finished.

_Exactly._

"Emily, are you okay now?"

I was jolted from my thoughts by my mom's voice.

"I…I don't really know yet…" It was the truth, although I hated to admit it.

"Well…" She paused to think for a bit. "Take your time."

"Meh…" I yawned then, the continuous swaying motion making me sleepy. I closed my eyes and only focused on the way the arms moved back and forth.

_Back and forth, back and-_

In about as much time as it took to read the above thought, I was fast asleep.

However, I was soon awoken by something that I had been forced to familiarize with- hunger.

My stomach growled angrily, and my eyes flickered open in surprise and alarm.

"Are you okay? Are you okay?" I heard my mom asking.

I adjusted my position so that I could look up at her while lying down: My eyes were stationary, but I still wouldn't have been able to look up that high, myself now being an orbular creature without a neck that had a piddly height of eight inches.

I had decided to tell the truth again, probably because I couldn't think of a convincing enough lie.

"I'm… I'm so hungry…"

Ah, I might have as well been one of the starving African children on the TV. My tone had been so helpless and innocent, and I realized that my expression had converted into that of a small, deprived child.

_Which I probably am…_

Her response was a combination of "Aw" and "Oh", followed by, "you poor thing!"

She set me down on what I recognized as my own bed, and scurried away to the kitchen.

I sighed and tried to compose myself.

_I'm not going to lose it. Not _again_._

I had relaxed enough by the time that she had come back, that I was able to take food off of the plate she had handed me and eat it like a civil…well, a civil _whatever_ I was.

She set the plate beside me on the bed, and I realized that the thing I was holding in my hands was a piece of sliced mozzarella. There was more on the plate, although the plate was also loaded with toast, grapes, strawberries, and many other things.

As I stuck the cheese in my mouth, I came upon a surprise that I should have expected.

I didn't have any teeth. I had a tongue, but my mouth was even devoid of gums or other places where teeth would be. My mouth was just a tongue and lots of empty space.

I swallowed quickly, and tried to not show that I was surprised.

_After all,_ I thought to myself, _if Kirby can eat whatever he wants, and he has the same problem, then I should be able to do the same thing. I'll just have to get used to it._

I had quickly moved through the cheese and was now getting ready to eat my toast. By now, I had found that eating made me feel inexplicably _happy_, like I had won a million dollars or something.

As I finished, the euphoria that had filled me was still too much for me to realize that _I didn't feel much different_.

I was too happy to care though, and so I fell back asleep in a matter of moments.

I had a strange dream about a roast turkey doing the can-can that night. It flailed around its turkey neck and splattered gravy everywhere. People- they looked like other kirbies to me- were yelling and hooting and saying things like "C'mon baby, show me that drumstick!" and "You look good enough to eat!" After a bit, though, I realized that _I_ was the turkey, and I was watching myself dance. It went well, though. I got married to a nice suckling pig and we lived in an oven for _happily ever after_.

Then I woke up, and I was hungry again.

My mom was holding her cell phone to her ear and standing over me, and I couldn't imagine _why_.

"It's Friday today." She chose her words cautiously.

"Mmph?" I asked, wondering what that could mean.

"The school called and asked whether you would be attending today…"

"What did you say?" Suddenly I felt very tired, and I dove under the covers that I had not used last night.

"I said that I would see if you were well enough to go."

"No, tell them I've got the Whooping Cough and I'm never going to school again, because if I do, the Black Plague will smite everyone, and then the Bird Flu will make all the chickens in the world turn into chain-smokers."

"_Okay_…" She then talked into the phone again, apparently talking to my school. My _Lutheran_ _private_ school. I was totally _not_ in the mood to sit through Seventh Grade today, even if the History Teacher made a lot of funny jokes or we learned about some awesome field trip experience we would have. I was _not_ ready to show my face there again, especially since it was a different face. Well, it was _kind of_ a different face, being that I was a different species now or whatever the technicalities were.

"Yes, she says that she has the Whooping Cough, and that if she goes to school, she will give everyone the Black Plague, and…" She suddenly leaned closer to me. "What was that last part?"

"And that the Bird Flu will turn all the chickens in the world into chain-smokers."

"Did you hear the last part?" she asked the woman in the school office. "Yes, that was her. Yes, I do realize that she sounds a little different. No, she was just joking, probably because she doesn't want to go back to school. Sixteen? Is that how many days she's been gone now? Okay, I'll tell her. What happened? Well… Truth be told, I don't really know, myself…" It went on like that for a long while, and it took all my willpower to stay awake.

"Ugh, I'm hungry again…" I said to myself, though making sure that she heard. My stomach growled on cue, and I made a big act like the whole Starving Child in Africa thing again.

"No, not this time. If you're hungry, make your own breakfast," my mom told me. She sounded hesitant, and she soon added, "If this is the way that things are going to be from now on, we better all get used to it."

I frowned. "But what will I have?"

"Use your imagination."

I did, I really did, but all I saw was _everything_.

"Well, what do you want for breakfast?"

I sighed. "That's the problem. I want everything."

"Well…" She sighed too, but then she continued her conversation.

"Yes, I realize that she has to pass Seventh Grade. But she's… I think she might be embarrassed about herself. Well, it's because there was some kind of crazy, freak accident, and her face isn't recognizable anymore. She's very self-conscious about it."

I felt my face get hot. I was blushing again. I really was embarrassed about going back to school like this, but to call it a _freak accident_? Absurd, borderline insanity!

Yelling loud enough for everyone to hear, I said, "IT WASN'T A FREAK ACCIDENT! IT WAS AT LEAST AN ATTEMPT TO WOUND, BUT I THINK HE WAS TRYING TO KILL ME!"

She cupped her hand over my mouth and continued talking.

"Yes, that was her again. I told you, she's very sensitive about it. How bad is it? Well, she'll live, but you wouldn't recognize her even if she was wearing a nametag. …Yes. You would think that it was someone else named Emily Stone, not _her_. Yes, that is the truth. What? You'll tell everyone so they know what to expect? I don't think she would like that…"

I was nothing but a lump underneath the covers now.

"Hmm? What does she look like now? It's really kind of…" My mom paused to look over at my general direction. "It's indescribable. Yes, that is my best description…"

After what seemed like hours, she was done talking.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news."

I groaned. "Bad news first, please."

"The bad news is that you have to go to school today."

"And the good news?" I winced, expecting for her to tell me that there was no good news.

"The good news is that you won't have to do makeup work, because they feel very sorry about your…_face_."

I frowned. "I happen to like this face just fine."

"But do you want everyone to see you like this?" she challenged.

"No…" I admitted, looking defeated. "But is she going to tell _everyone_?"

"I believe so. Sorry if anyone gives you trouble," she apologized. "But…" She brushed her hand gently across my left cheek. "This face, even though I don't feel like it's yours… It's not half-bad. It's very…" She searched for the right word. "It's very cute."

"So that's it? I'm going to school?"

"Yes. Although one thing has occurred to me- You can't wear any of your uniforms like that."

_Wait a minute, did she say no uniforms? Unbelievable! Next I'll see pigs flying!_

It was almost too good to be true. I had to ask, just to make sure that I wasn't hearing things.

"Did you say that I won't have to wear a uniform?"

"That's right. I'm not even sure how they would put clothing on you right now…" She pondered it for a moment. "A hat, maybe a skirt, but it would have to be very short…" She sighed. "Ah well. We'll figure that out later. Right now you need to get ready for school. And don't worry- everything will be fine. And if anything goes wrong, then go to the office and call me so I can pick you up, okay?" She smiled and then kissed me on the forehead. "Trust me on this, okay?"

I smiled, the warmth of the mom-kiss spreading throughout my body very quickly. "Okay, Mommy."

_Wait; did I just call her Mommy? I haven't done that since I was seven or five or something… Oh well. It must have been that kiss._

And it was true, for the most part. The kiss had set off a sort of chain-reaction in my brain, the results of which I would find out later.

"Oh, and Emily?" my mom asked as I prepared to jump off the bed.

"Huh? What?"

"I know that today will be very stressful for you, but… The thing is, we need to do _something_. Your education is essential to your future, even more now because you're different from everyone else. Just hang on. Good people will learn to accept you, and the bad people's opinions won't matter."

I sighed and walked towards the kitchen. It was going to be a long day, even if things worked out for the best.


	3. Ch 2: A Day in the Life

"This is Emily?" my teacher asked. "Seriously?"

It wasn't the first time that I had heard that today. Nearly everyone I had seen had asked me this. It was getting to be tedious, but I would just smile and tap my mechanical pencil on my desk, sometimes humming to myself. I wouldn't lose my mind over such a trivial thing as what they thought of me…hopefully.

"I was told that she looked different, but…" He shook his head. "This is ridiculous!"

I looked up at my teacher. My expression was an attempt at indifference, but I somehow doubted that it had succeeded.

He was very tall, with golden brown hair. He almost always wore bowties, and he taught Science Class. He had grown up on a farm, and so he was very muscular, but his eyes were kind and gentle. He was really a nice guy, though people joked about him being mean.

I had to admit that it was starting to get boring by now. I smiled at my two neighbors, both in front, and I hopped off my chair so I could stack the unused chair beside me on top of my own chair and sit on both of them for added height. (When you're _that_ short, you need all the height you can get!)

We were in pods of four desks each, and there were five pods around the room, but there were only nineteen people, which accounted for the empty desk beside me. My good friend Mark was sitting behind me, and whenever he leaned back in his chair, his chair touched backs with mine.

I looked to the board, and answered the journal question, "If you could be any cartoon character, who would you be?"

There was only one way to answer this question. In my journal, I wrote down, "Kirby."

After I answered, Mark told the rest of the class, "If I could be any cartoon character, I would be Jigglypuff, because Jigglypuff is the coolest guy ever."

I laughed on the outside, although I secretly shuddered at the thought on the inside. I had a secret hatred for Jigglypuffs. In my mind, they were the Kirby Imposters- the guys that everyone saw Kirby as. Weak, poofy, a joke… I despised them- all of the Jigglypuffs. Although, I did believe that if Mark was one, things wouldn't be as bad as they would be with the other ones…

Suddenly, my History teacher popped his head around the doorframe.

"Hey guys, just a little heads-up. In a few minutes, there's going to be an 'emergency' Chapel service, okay?" He looked around the room for a moment. "She's in your class, right, Heath?"

He glanced up. "Yeah. She doesn't look like you'd expect, though."

My History teacher was unphased. "Okay, so Emily, will you please come with me?" He scanned the faces again, looking for one like mine, but Mark's height coupled with my lack of height was enough to make me completely invisible unless you happened to pass by my chair. And even then, it's not like it was _blatantly_ obvious that there was someone sitting there, unless you happened to look into the chair and see me there.

I hopped down and walked towards the front of the class, hearing people whispering quietly to each other. To me, it was as if they had been talking directly to me, and it was making my palms cover themselves in cold sweat.

"Is that really her?"

"She looks like Kirby, except blue."

"How do you think that happened?"

"I don't know, but maybe we'll get to know at the Chapel."

I walked towards the front of the room, my steps flat. My archless feet came down harder than they should have.

I was freezing up again, so I ended up practically dragging myself across the room.

"So that's her, is it…" the teacher mumbled to himself.

I finally reached him, and as I did, I turned my body up to face him and looked him in the face. I hoped that my emotions weren't as blatantly apparent as I thought they were.

From the expression on his face, I could tell that he knew I was frightened and nervous. He bent down, carefully picked me up, and walked down the hall with my face peeking out over his right shoulder.

It didn't take long afterwards for me to realize that I was trembling, on top of all my other emotions.

The teacher's hands were large, warm, and steady on my back, contrasted to my small, cold, and trembling body. For this I was very grateful.

My hands were on top of his right shoulder, and I could see behind him. I felt my feet dangle below me, unsupported. It didn't bother me in the slightest.

There was nothing to do but watch the carpet floor until it changed to tiles and then concrete, and I soon grew bored and wished I was sleeping. My half-open eyes reflected that.

He moved swiftly, past the room with all the lockers, and into the part of Cornerstone where everyone with an office and a desk job worked (excluding the principal and a few others.)

While we were moving, I heard him say softly to himself, "Poor little thing. I wonder what happened to her…"

I tried to be angry with him about calling me "little", but as I was mustering up whatever rage I could find and started to run with it, my mind crashed itself straight into an invisible wall.

_WHUMP. Owwowow…_

There was some kind of invisible anger barrier in my head that had never been there before, so I tried to reason with myself that I had a right to be mad.

_Why would he call me a "little thing"?_

_Because it's true._

_But I'm not… really…_

I struggled for words, but I couldn't find any that didn't contradict myself, and so I dropped it.

We were in the Chapel by now, and my nerves were starting to act up again.

"It's going to be okay…"

I couldn't be sure who said it, and whether I had even thought it to myself and not said it at all.

The footsteps came to a halt, and I felt myself being set gently on the ground.

The carpet was a rich red color, and the fake almost velvety texture was much more comfortable than the shaggy gray carpet in my classroom. It felt good to my feet.

"The carpet is soft…" I said absentmindedly to myself.

I lied down flat on my front and idly wondered why I was here in the first place.

I had been under way too much pressure lately, and it had left me unreasonably tired: Or maybe that was just the nice, soft carpet and the fact that I did want to be asleep.

I mumbled a soft "Po-o-o-yo-o-o…" to myself and closed my eyes.

It was Kirby. I saw him in my dream. He looked very much like me, but his eyes were a deep, sapphire blue, and he was, of course, pink. He was about to say something to me, when a deep male voice shook me out of the nap that I had accidentally taken.

"Emily," it said calmly. "Emily."

Even though it was gentle, I gave a surprised "WAH!" as I awoke to find the principal standing over me.

"Hello," he said, surprised to find me awake.

No one fears the principal in my school. In fact, all the little kids swarm to get his autograph on their hands when they come in the front door. I didn't know whether he could get scary or not, as I had never been to detention, but if I had, I would've been scared out of my wits regardless of whether or not he was harsh.

"You've been asleep for a while now. I had to wake you up because you need to talk to them."

On "them", he spread out his arm in the direction of the pews.

My eyes bugged out a little, but I don't think anyone noticed. The pews were full of the entire school, and I was starting to get a serious case of stage fright again.

He coughed into his hand. "So, if you're ready, we'll just need to adjust the microphone…"

His hand reached above my head, and I saw a stand microphone in front of me. He fiddled with the stand until it adjusted to its shortest size, but it was still a few feet too tall.

I watched him bend it down so that it was pointing at my face.

I glanced warily up at it, my mind briefly flashing a picture of Mike Kirby.

_Oh, don't think that right now, stupid brain…_

I got up as slowly as I could, stretching my short arms out in front of me and rocking on them until I could swing my feet forward. It only took a second though, and I knew that it wasn't going to be over until I did what they wanted.

I removed the microphone from its stand and held it in front of myself- and then, a sudden urge came over me.

I could only describe it as instinct, probably because it had no thought of its own, but it eroded into my own thoughts as a sort of temptation.

_Eat it! Eat it! You're a fool if you don't. If you don't eat it, you're the stupidest person to have ever lived._

My hands trembled as I brought it closer to my mouth. I breathed in slowly and deeply; controlling it just enough that I seemed to just have a bad case of stage fright. I was somehow resisting, but I did not trust myself to speak yet.

_Oooh, _I thought to myself, _I don't want to eat it, but… I'm so tempted to at the same time…_

It took me some time before I had shaken off the feeling to the back of my mind.

I sighed and began to talk.

"Erm, hello everyone. I- I don't really know where to begin or what to talk about."

To the principal, I quietly whispered, "Do I have to do this?"

He nodded back.

"But where should I start? And what should I even talk about?"

"Whatever you feel like," he whispered back.

My voice resumed its previous volume as I held the microphone closer to myself again.

"Well, this definitely means that something funny is going on. I…" I glanced back up at the principal. "I was assaulted one night while I was asleep. There was this- this _thing_. I can't say what it really was, but it- it was big." I shuddered to myself as I flipped back my memories to that night. "It looked almost human, but not quite. It was creepy. It did _something_ to me, but I don't think it was…_this_. It's got to still be out there, though…" I looked worried; but then again, I really was.

The principal then stooped down and accepted the microphone as I gave it to him.

"So, Emily, how _do_ you think this happened?"

He dropped the microphone down to me, and I caught it.

"I have no idea at all… Although when I find out, I'm sure that it will be quite fascinating."

My bell-like voice sounded somewhat odd when using such vocabulary, but that was how I always talked.

I gazed anxiously at the crowd.

"Can I go home now?" I whispered up to the principal.

"Why?" he whispered back. "Do you not feel well?"

"But it's been such a long day already…"

"It's only a few more hours. It will be over before you know it!"

I didn't respond, but I instead just stared up at him.

"Why are you making that face at me?"

"What face?" I asked, not sure what he meant.

"You're pouting at me."

"I am?"

He nodded.

"I'm mad at you because I want to go home."

"You don't look mad. Anyway, you have to stay because it's important for your education. Education is the foundation of civilization."

I deflated slightly, with an expression of defeat on my face. "Okay…"

I sighed into the microphone. "Anyway… I guess I shouldn't waste any more of your time… We'd all better get back to class, right?"

I perked up at the idea of not being in front of everyone.

I hopped down the steps and followed my class out of the Sanctuary.

When we got back, it was time for Gym.

I walked into the girls' locker room like normal, my gym uniform held loosely in my arms. I set it down on the floor in front of me. A bright orange shirt with "God's Body Shop" written on it and a big white fish in the center; a pair of navy blue sports shorts; and a pair of shoes that, in my opinion, were hideous. I looked over it all.

The shirt wouldn't fit- neither would the pants, obviously. But the shoes? I squeezed my feet into them and stood up, feeling slightly restricted in movement and a little odd. They fit fairly well, but the shape felt odd to me, and the somewhat high ankles caused my feet to be in an awkward position. However, I was also an inch or two taller, which made up for any indecency of wearing them.

I tied up the laces and tried to take a step.

_SMACK!_

I had tripped over something and fallen forward onto the hard tile floor.

"Ow."

"Are you okay?" someone asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I answered, struggling up to my feet. It was difficult and awkward to get up while wearing these shoes.

"Say…" a voice asked.

"Hmm?" I answered back, sitting on the floor on top of my gym clothes.

"Were you scared up there?"

"Me?" I asked. "Are you asking me?"

"Of course, silly. Was it scary at all?"

I thought for a moment. "Yeah… I asked the principal if I could leave early today, but he declined… Something about my education, y'know."

"Oh. So…" the person continued.

"'So…'?" I asked back.

"So, um… Not to be impolite or anything, but…"

"But _what_?" I asked.

"Well, it's been bugging me all morning. What _are_ you, exactly?"

I stared at my feet, blue color now hidden by the cloth, plastics, and various other materials that made up my gym shoes. "What I am? Well…"

I thought about it for a bit. The answer _seemed_ obvious, but I could end up being wrong…

"Well, it is my suspicion that I am what many people call a 'kirby', or a 'batamon' or whatever other names silly people make up."

"But what word would you use?"

"Kirby, definitely. Some of the other choices can be pretty stupid, in my opinion."

"And, well… It might sound stupid, but what exactly _is_ a kirby? Do you have any specifics?"

I shrugged slightly, wondering how I could still pull it off without elbows or shoulders to shrug with. "Well, it's still kinda foggy as to how much of the requirements I meet-"

"-Requirements?" she interrupted.

"-Yes. Requirements that I believe will tell me whether or not I guessed completely right."

"Which ones have you filled so far?"

"Oh, really all the basic, most obvious ones. There are a few things I haven't tried yet, but…"

"Girls, hurry up!" was heard from the hall. "Gym is starting!"

The voice wasn't the gym teacher's, which somewhat relieved me. That meant that there was some kind of sub for the class, which was probably better than the real teacher.

I marched into the gym somewhat awkwardly, tripping a few times, but getting up and continuing the march from the locker room to the gym.

When I got inside, I discovered who was teaching us.

Gray hair, glasses, dress shirt, tie, dress pants with a belt through all the loops… It was, without a doubt, the principal.

"Hello again, Emily. Glad to see you! Are those shoes fitting you okay?"

"Well enough," I answered. "What are we doing today?"

"Speedball!" he announced to the entire class. "But first, we're going to run. Girls- outside the blue line- three laps! Boys- outside the red line- five laps!"

I began running, my arms automatically flying up above my face and my feet moving back and forth as fast as I could convince them to go. Every once in a while, I would squeeze my eyes shut so I could concentrate better, but I somehow managed to not trip or crash during any of the three laps.

I was faster than I had remembered being- I could easily catch up to the other girls now, and even dash ahead of some of them. I kept chugging along at a steady speed for the entire time, and I collapsed on the floor, panting, when I was done. Those three laps can feel like thirty when you're small.

I was exhausted. I barely even heard as he explained to the new girl how Speedball was like Extreme Frisbee, but with a squishy yellow ball instead of a disk. We were divided into two teams. How you played was that everyone could move; except for the person holding the ball. People would guard the ball and try to swipe it from the holder's hands, and the only defense the holder had was that he or she could pivot. How you score points was by passing the ball from team member to team member until you could throw it into the other team's "goal", which for us was a rectangle of blue mats outlined with bright orange tape. The team with the most points at the end of class won; it was as simple as that.

I was leaning against the stage while he drabbed on and on, and I fell asleep only a few seconds into the explanation.

I was having the same dream as before. Kirby was there, looking at me. He was about to speak, to tell me something that I desperately wanted to hear-

I was shaken awake and stood up by a pair of sturdy hands that I recognized as those of my good friend, Mark.

"Are you okay? You seem to be dozing off an awful lot today."

I was still dazed. What was with me today? Why was I so sleepy all the time? My mind was fuzzy and disorganized… I said that first thing that popped into my head.

"Sleeping all the time…" I mumbled to myself.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"…Kirby of the Stars…" I mumbled again, eyes unfocused and singing quietly to myself.

"WAKE UP! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

I focused on his face. It wasn't angry, just concerned. We didn't know each other very well, but we had bonded just a little bit more than some of my other friends at the school. He was smart and funny and…

"Say something. _Please_?"

I was a little bit more awake by now, but not quite enough to come up with a witty response.

"…Poyo?"

"What does _that_ mean?"

I almost answered. I really did, but he probably wouldn't believe me if I told him.

_Oh, it's just an inane word from a baby language I seem to have picked up. It means _something_, I'm sure, but I don't think there's a correct phrase for it. Ah well._

Then I decided to answer anyway.

"Umm… It means something like… Maybe…" I was thinking very hard now. "Something like 'I'm sleepy and confused and my brain isn't up to up to speed yet'? I dunno… I'm tired…"

"Oh. Okay…"

"Mark, get to the white team side! Emily, orange team! Let's move!" the principal shouted enthusiastically.

I yawned and sat up, stretching out my arms.

"You need some help?" Mark asked me.

"No…" I got up quickly and quietly, and I rushed to the opposite side of the gymnasium.

The balls were really flying that day. It was almost as life threatening as dodge ball. The ball got passed so fast that I could barely even notice where it was.

And then it hit me…quite literally!

I was just standing there, minding my own business, when… WHAM! - I got pegged in the face by a ball going at least fifty miles per hour! The thrower was out, most definitely, but there was more of a consequence.

The ball knocked me off my feet and carried me through the air until a wall outside the gym stopped me. My shoes flew off at impact, and I slowly skidded down the wall.

I closed my eyes as I broke free of the wall and fell down onto the floor. I laid there, my body slightly flattened, lying on my front. My face faced the open gym door.

I heard footsteps- light quick ones, and slower heavier ones- coming towards me.

A voice of one of my classmates- a girl, definitely, but I couldn't tell whom at the time. "Do you think she's still awake?"

Another voice, without a doubt my principal's. "I'm not sure…"

"What do you think we should do?"

Then I felt a pair of huge hands on my back, shaking me gently.

I made a noise that was a cross between a groan, a grunt, and a whimper before I slowly opened my eyes.

"Are you okay?" I heard two voices asking.

I made the noise again and closed my eyes. My entire body was sore from that little incident, but other than that, I felt fine.

The hands slowly and gently picked me up.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking her to the nurse, of course."

I felt myself being carried.

_Twice in one day?_ I wondered to myself.

Lucky for me, it wasn't nearly as long of a walk as the first one.

I didn't open my eyes. I didn't want to have to answer whatever they asked me, and I didn't really want to look down when I was being carried so loosely.

I heard a woman's voice. "Hello there. What happened to her?"

"Small gym incident. She needs to see the nurse. Is she in?"

"Why, yes."

I felt myself plopped onto a soft cot.

"What happened to her?"

"She got hit with a playground ball during gym class."

"Oh, really? Well, I'll just take a look at her."

"She wasn't knocked unconscious, but she got hit really hard and slammed into one of those hard gym walls.

"Ouch. That must have hurt."

"Yeah. Well… I have to get back to her class now. Gym is almost over anyway, and so…just tell me how she is later, okay?"

"Alright."

I heard the principal's footsteps get farther and farther away.

"Mind if I check you out?"

I didn't respond, as I was fast asleep.

"Fine then," she mumbled quietly to herself. "I'll have to take that as a yes."

_Why do I keep having the same dream?_ I commented to myself. _It's so weird._

I was quite obviously having the same dream that I had had many times earlier.

It was Kirby again. He was looking at me, and he was about to say something. He opened his mouth to speak-

"OW!" This was my voice, not his, as I was awoken by two pairs of five probing fingers.

"Sorry," the nurse apologized.

"What are you doing?" I asked groggily.

"I'm just making sure that you're not seriously injured."

"Well, I'm sore, but that's about it."

"It's my job to make sure that nothing else is wrong."

I sighed.

"Open your mouth, please," she asked as she held out a tongue depressor.

"Why are you-" I started to ask, but I was abruptly cut off by a wooden stick pushing down my tongue.

As she pushed down, my mouth expanded.

"This is all very interesting, as you might imagine."

I made an attempt to speak, but my tongue was immobile. It came out as a grunt.

"You have a big mouth… And your tongue is shaped funny. It's narrow up front where everyone can see it, but it gets really wide less than half way back."

She pushed down farther.

"Hmm… I think I can see your uvula. Well, that looks normal."

She took out a small flashlight and shined the light around my mouth.

"No teeth? No gums? How odd… Your mouth is just… a tongue, really…"

I made a gagging noise as I tried to swallow.

She took out the tongue depressor.

"Now then, I'm going to take your pulse…"

She pulled out a stethoscope from a drawer and placed the cold metal end below my mouth, on the left side of the front of my stomach. She mumbled a few things to herself, but I caught the occasional word.

"…seems about normal…a bit faster, of course, but…stronger, though…"

I wanted to push the device off of my front, but I knew that she wouldn't like that.

She began moving it around to different areas of my front.

"Odd…" I heard her comment, "it sounds just as strong from every different part…but I could have sworn that the only thing inside her body was her mouth…"

She sighed. "This may seem a bit unnecessary to you, but to me, it is very crucial for information. Right, now to take your temperature…"

_Oh, not the mouth again… I don't like that at all…_

"Open." She was holding out a thermometer.

I kept my mouth shut.

_There's no way I'm going to let her do this to me…_

"So…" she asked, completely casual, "what class do you have next? I heard that gym is almost over."

"Science," I answered.

"And what's after Science class?"

My stomach growled, reminding me. "Lunch and recess."

"Which do you have first?"

"Lu-" I started to say, but was cut short by a thermometer nestling itself slightly underneath my tongue.

"Now keep your mouth shut and we'll wait until the thermometer beeps."

I was trying to give her a death-glare, but by her giggles, I didn't believe that I was pulling it off.

After what seemed like hours, the thermometer gave a series of annoyingly high-pitched beeps.

The nurse took the thermometer out, and read the temperature.

"Ninety-seven degrees Fahrenheit. That's over a degree lower than normal."

I stuck out my tongue at her. I just wanted to get back to class by now.

"Do you have any chills or heat flashes?"

I shook my head.

She frowned. "Well, I'm about done for now. I want you to rest on the cot. Is there anything you want? Glass of water, perhaps?"

"Can I just have a cup filled with ice, please?"

She shrugged. "Sure, sure…"

She opened up the tiny freezer underneath the miniature water cooler and took out a big bag of ice. She got out a little waxed paper cup with bright pictures of giraffes on it and poured the ice cubes in until it was almost full to the top.

She handed me the cup, and I clenched it tightly between my two hands. I stared at the slightly translucent rectangles of ice, and I felt me pulse speed up as I decided that it was time to find out a crucial clue.

I took an ice cube out of the cup and held it until my left hand went numb from the cold. Then I put it into my mouth and swallowed, concentrating on the fact that ice was just frozen water, and that water was in everything.

Nothing happened. I gave a small smile of relief, but my hands started trembling a little as I took out another cube.

I recalled the feeling that I had had earlier, when I took hold of the microphone for the first time. I had been under a lot of stress, and was looking for an easy solution. I was now calm, besides the fear of what might happen when I tried again.

I swallowed the cube, this time thinking to myself, _Ice. I suppose I'm in a bit of a jam right now… I mean…_ My mind quickly flipped through every major stress I had had in the past month.

Then it happened.

My body emanated a bright flash, almost as luminous as the sun, but I felt myself being surrounded by darkness. There was nothing here but a few twinkling stars, and even then, there were so few that I could have counted them all if I had wanted to.

It was definitely getting colder. A brisk wind enveloped my body, and I began to shiver and I started to curl up to stay warm. Fresh fallen snow whipped around me, and my skin prickled as the temperature dropped to way below freezing point. I winced slightly as several huge ice crystals grew on top of my head, until the entire top was covered with the behemoth things. As I stood, too stunned to react, two halves of a golden band flew to the sides of my head and joined together, while a six-sided sapphire blue jewel rested on top of them.

I was still sitting on the cot, and the cup was still in my hands, with the same number of cubes left as when I swallowed the second one. But something was different. The cup now felt warm to me instead of cold. I set it on the floor and got off the cot.

Success. I had transformed. I had copied Ice and was now at a colder body temperature than the cubes I had copied.

My body emanated cold, so I had my own personal climate control.

I took out an ice cube from the cup and held it in my left hand again.

It was warm, and as a warm-blooded creature, I was drawn to it: The warmth felt good on my hand, but my climate control didn't let me feel the heat of the room. It was warm in here to me, but not much more than the ice cube.

The ice cube wasn't melting this time; In fact, it seemed to be getting colder, if anything.

I turned around to face the doorway just in time before the nurse toppled to the ground. She had fainted.

I rushed over to her and gently blew into her face, a tiny stream of frostbite-inducing breath touching her.

She stirred after a few moments, finally opening her eyes and looking up.

"It's cold, for some reason," she mumbled to herself.

I was so relieved that I almost gave her a hug, but stopped just as I remembered that I was much colder than she was.

She turned her head so she could see me.

"…How…?" she said, struggling to put together a question.

"Sorry about that. Umm…" I answered, looking around. I had felt some little beads of something land on my arms. I held one in front of my face.

_Ice? Why is ice falling onto my arms?_

"Is it just me," I said, voicing my concern aloud, "or is the room getting warmer?"

The nurse gasped. "The ice is melting!"

If I had been able to view the top of my head, I would have noticed that the crystals adorning it were shrinking at an alarming rate, and as a result, my body was heating up.

As the ice crystals melted, I felt increasingly tired. The room was getting hot… I was the next to faint.

I was having the very same dream as before, and it annoyed me somewhat that I had never gotten to see the end of it. As Kirby was about to speak, my mind was bogged down with such fatigue that I forgot about the dream entirely, and was instead dreaming about getting to lie down and sleep for a full twelve hours, and being able to eat until I was satisfied, without anyone crabbing at me.

I was just coming to my senses when I heard the nurse's voice.

"If you don't hurry up, you'll be late to lunch!"

I sprang to my feet and ran out the door, not even waiting for her to finish talking.

_Lunch… What's for lunch today?_

_Pizza. Papa John's, I think._

_How many slices did I order?_

_How many slices do you think are in a box?_

…_Don't know. Eight? Ten? I can't remember._

By the time that I was trying to remember how much pizza was in a box, I had arrived in the cafeteria.

The line was already exasperatingly long, and I was at the end of it.

"Beep beep!" I said, "What's the holdup?"

"It's pizza day, y'know. Pizza day is the best lunch day," someone answered.

"Yeah," someone else agreed. "And sometimes the breadsticks are really good. I wonder how fresh the cookies are today!"

My stomach growled. Today was not turning out to be a good day for me. It was so hard to wait in such a long line.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, it was my turn to order. I looked up at the metal surface that lunch trays were supposed to slide along, and realized that it was a few feet taller than me.

I leaped up and grabbed the edge. I hung there for a moment before bringing up my feet and climbing onto it.

I heard comments coming from further back in the line.

"Dude, did you see that? She just jumped, like, three feet in the air!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! You missed it?"

I sighed and tried my best to ignore them.

"Umm, I'd like…eight slices of pepperoni, please…"

A woman dug underneath the top box and handed a box to me.

"Thank you."

"Anything else?" she asked, purely out of courtesy.

"No… Thanks."

I leapt down onto the floor with my warm box and walked until I got to the plastic table filled with ice that had all the drinks on it. I stood on top of the box and reached as high as I could to get down a chocolate milk. I wasn't tall enough to reach, so I leaped again, landing in a pile of melting ice. I shivered, but found my chocolate milk.

Then I went to go pay for everything.

It was less of a hassle than I had imagined it would be, but my lunch account needed some more money in it…

_Oh well. At least she let me get it all,_ I thought as I walked to the table with all the plastic cups and tableware.

I got a straw and two napkins and sat down at a table with my usual group.

I sighed and opened up the box.

"It's been a long day. I need to just have some quiet time to myself."

They all nodded as I took out a slice from the box and tried to use my mouth to bite it. I swallowed the little piece and continued my silent routine, trying not to make myself look like I was so hungry.

I took a sip of my milk as one of my friends asked a question.

"Are you going to eat that whole box?"

I flinched slightly before answering.

"Yeah…"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks."

"…Did you eat breakfast this morning?"

"I don't really remember."

"Oh."

There was silence for a good while.

"Did you eat anything yesterday?" someone asked.

"Yeah."

"Dinner?"

"Think so…"

"Oh."

There was silence at our table for the rest of the period, which was probably a first for an all girls' table.

Once I was done, I threw all my trash into a giant plastic bin and lined up to go to recess.

I walked out onto the woodchips just in time to see Mark and his buddies playing on the new installments to the playground. They were doing it as a sort of obstacle course, but one of Mark's friends was cheating. He skipped all the hard parts. I giggled a little bit as I watched them climbing and hooting.

However, it was what came after that was most fascinating.

Josh, a relatively laid-back athletic guy, shimmied up one of the support poles on the swing, and sat on the top bar that the swings swung from. He looked very proud of himself.

Taylor, the smartest girl in the grade, had been watching, and she climbed up the pole too, just to prove that she could.

She was on the other side of the swings.

Now the rest of the boys were all trying to get up there, too, but no one else succeeded.

I knew that I could probably get up there, but I was afraid of heights and didn't want to try.

But all too soon, recess was over, and it was time for Math Class.

I was in Math 7 with Josh, while Mark and Taylor were in Pre-Algebra. We were learning about the insanely fun world of graphs, and my hands sometimes cramped up because we had to copy the notes down practically word-for-word, in fear of an elaborate Notes Quiz that asked us for word-for-word examples and definitions. The lesson was easy, and I got most of my homework done in class. I had Computer Class next, and I was wondering how I might accomplish that.

My Computer Teacher had a very boring, monotone voice, glasses, and thinning white hair. We usually spent the first part of computer class doing Typing Tutor, and as everyone put on their headphones and fit the keyboard covers snugly over his or her keyboards, I raised my left hand into the air. He walked right past me. I stretched both my arms out as far as I could and waved them through the air as fast as I could. He caught the motion from the corner of his eye and turned around.

"Yes, Emily?"

I sighed. "Umm, how am I supposed to type? I don't have…" I looked at my hands. "…You know…"

"Oh." He thought for a bit. "Well… Why don't you skip Typing Tutor and play Carmen Sandiego instead."

I smiled and exited out of the program.

I clicked on a file and opened "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?".

I spent the rest of the class trying to find all the clues and solve the puzzles in order to find and catch Carmen Sandiego. I completed an entire mission, but she had escaped.

I was just about to find the first clue for the next mission, when the teacher announced, "Five minutes left. Put your headphones on the hooks and exit out of any windows that you have opened. Go to start; log off; log off. Remain seated and quiet until you are dismissed."

People around me were absent-mindedly chattering still, but I quietly logged off of my computer and sat in my seat.

"If you guys don't stop talking, you'll be late to class," he reminded us.

The few remaining talkers finally found a means of hushing themselves.

"Line up if you have glasses on. Don't forget to push in your chairs!"

A few people lined up at the door.

"Line up if…you're wearing white shoes."

Most of the class lined up.

"Line up if you have black shoes."

Everyone else lined up, except for me.

"Line up if you're not wearing shoes."

I quietly pushed in my chair and took my spot at the back of the line. We were all eagerly waiting to get out of the classroom.

"Someone forgot to push in their chair."

Total silence. You could almost hear the crickets chirping.

"Who sits at Computer Number Eight?"

An average-sized boy stepped out of line and walked over to the computer so he could push in his chair.

"Thank you. You are dismissed. Silence in the halls!"

The teacher opened the door, and we all filed out, eager to be one step closer to dismissal.

History was next. My History teacher had a great sense of humor and was a really nice guy.

We were making posters of the Quartering Act. I was drawing little cartoon pictures of British soldiers and Colonial housewives in a great big house. My partner helped too. She was a very sweet person, and we got along well.

"So are you alright after everything?" she asked, her soft tone sounding concerned.

"I think I am…"

We added the finishing touches to the poster and started on our homework. We got a lot of it done during class.

Seminar was the last class of the day, where people would normally rush to finish homework. Unfortunately, our class wasn't exactly the definition of "normal".

First of all, there was a guy wearing a recycling bin on his head, and signing his name sloppier than usual in his workbook.

Then there was Mark and his friend.

They had gotten a hold of an old calculator that printed out every calculation on a long roll of paper. It still worked, and the teacher didn't care that they were playing with it.

As Mark's friend brought various items to Mark, he added them to the "receipt"- the poor guy even went so far as to even buy all the store chains that were connected to their fake one.

I couldn't keep a straight face while I listened to their conversation.

"That'll be 20,000 dollars, please," Mark said in his best shop clerk's voice.

"20,000 DOLLARS???"

"With tax, that brings it up to…" He paused to punch a few of the numbers, "30,000."

"I can't afford that!"

"Will there be anything else?"

"I'd like this ball."

"500 dollars, please."

"I'd like him," the friend said, pointing to the kid that had recently removed his head from the recycling bin.

"One cent," Mark told him.

In spite of everything, I had actually managed to get all of my homework done before the bell rang.

"Pack up! Go to your lockers!"

I skipped to my locker, relieved that not only was it Friday and it was the end of school, but that I didn't have any homework to do over the weekend!

I pulled my huge blue rolling backpack out of my half-sized bottom locker and rolled my way to the weekend.


	4. Ch 3: Surprise Trip

I fell asleep that night and had the same dream _again_.

Kirby was there, and he was about to say something to me.

I finally got to hear it.

"You might want to wake up and take a look at your surroundings," he said in the high-pitched voice of a little boy.

I was curious enough to listen.

_Maybe he knows what he's talking about…_

As I opened my eyes, I was met with quite a different scenario.

For a start, I was no longer in my bed, room, floor, house, or subdivision. I probably wasn't even in the same county; maybe not even the same state!

"Where… Where am I?" I asked, getting to my feet and looking around.

The ground was cold- that was the first thing I noticed.

I looked down and saw a steel floor. It was starting to become apparent to me where I was.

_I'm in a cage_, was the first thought my mind proffered. Then, a few seconds later, I thought about it in greater detail._ Why am I in a cage? I didn't do anything wrong…_

I sat down and stared straight ahead.

The walls were such a bright white that I almost had to squint in order to look at them. There were many tables in the room, and on one was a large computer.

I peered into a top corner of my "quarters" and saw a small camera. The light was blinking.

"You're awake," came a voice from the far corner of the room.

As the voice and its owner came closer, I saw a pair of brown shoes with worn white laces.

Above the shoes were ankle-high white socks, and above those were the rolled-up sleeves of a pair of men's black dress pants.

I walked to the front of the cage and looked up as high as I could.

I couldn't see his face, or even anything higher than his waist, because his belt buckle stuck out too much.

"I'm sorry about the enclosure that you happen to be in," he apologized, "but we needed to be sure that you wouldn't run away when you awoke."

"How did I get here?" I asked, somewhat confused by his courtesy.

As the words left my mouth, I felt the cage shift and I saw that I was being lifted up onto something.

Now I could see his face.

He was dressed in a dark blue dress shirt and he had tan skin and brown eyes. His ears stuck out a bit at the sides and his hair was a reddish brown.

I rolled to the other side of the cage as he tilted it to have it rest on one of the large tables I had seen.

"Funny how they left this on the floor, don't you think?" he commented.

"But how did I get here?" I repeated.

"Oh, that. Well, word got around that you…existed, for lack of a better word. Some people were sent out to find you, and, yourself being considered a 'new species' and all, we had to bring you back to the labs for fear that you might hurt yourself."

I sighed. "But what about observing me in my 'natural habitat'?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't my decision. I was kept here to keep an eye on you, and I suppose no one bothered to do anything with your cage besides rig up a motion-sensing camera in a corner. I guess they didn't want to wake you."

I stared at his face, which was very average-looking. "So am I stuck here until you guys know what makes me tick?"

"Well, I haven't heard all of it, but that sounds about right."

I pressed my forehead against the bars. "This is rather a depressing situation."

He sighed a little bit. "Is now the time for me to mention that you are allowed to make a call?"

I looked up. "Really?"

"Yes, as long as you tell us the number and who you are calling."

"Oh. Okay." I extended my hand through the metal bars. "Can I call someone right now?"

"Who are you going to call?"

I sighed. "Just my best friend, Rheanna." I told him her last name and number and he jotted it down on a piece of paper. Then he typed a few things on his keyboard, and nodded.

"So can I call her?"

He handed the phone to me rather absentmindedly, and I idly played with the springy plastic coils as I heard the dialing tone.

I got her answering machine. I listened for the beep, and then started talking.

"Hey Rheanna, it's…Emily. I'm not home right now; in fact I haven't the slightest idea as to where I am currently located. I just really want you to call, and-" My voice cracked, and I heard a voice on the other end of the line. She had picked up at the last moment.

A cautious voice answered, "Is this really Emily?"

"Of course it is!"

"But…" The voice was hesitant. "But… I thought…"

"You thought what?"

"I thought…I thought that you were…gone…"

I frowned. "Gone?" The way she had used the word was making me feel uncomfortable.

"…Yes…"

"You don't mean dead, do you?"

I heard her swallow hard, and there was a long pause. "…Yes…"

"But I'm not! I'm not! I'd prove it to you, but…"

"How?" She was curious by now.

"Well, as of right now, it's fairly impossible, but I will as soon as I can, okay?"

There was a pause again. "I need to make sure that you are who you say you are and not a phony."

I passed the phone to my right side and cringed as my stomach growled. "Oh, really? Like what?"

She sighed into the phone. "You tell me."

I nodded. "Well, I met you in Second Grade, and, though I don't remember it, when you were introduced at my school I was the only one to curtsy."

There was silence on the other end.

"Your favorite color is green, your eyes are, um…" I looked up as I tried to remember. "…Brown? And you're blonde, right?"

"They're hazel. And my hair is dirty blonde."

"Right, right. I never do remember these things. But, how did I do? Do you want any more information?"

She was hesitant to answer. "You did alright. I probably wouldn't have recognized you if you hadn't gotten some details wrong." I intuitively saw her smile. "But there's one thing I can't understand- what _did_ happen to you?"

I was silent for a good while, staring down at my feet.

"You won't believe me," I finally answered.

"Well, I can try!"

I sighed. "Promise me you won't think I'm…crazy."

"Okay, I promise. What happened?"

The next sentence that came out of my mouth was rushed and quiet. "I got turned into a kirby."

"What?" she asked, not understanding what I had said.

I took a deep breath and repeated myself, this time saying each word slowly and clearly. "I. Got. Turned. Into. A. Kirby."

"…Did I hear you right?" she seemed more confused than ever. "Did you really say that you got turned into a…kirby?"

"Yes."

"No kidding?"

"No kidding."

"For real?"

"For real."

"…How do I know you're not lying?"

This question made me think for a bit. "You can't really know, because I'm not sure how to prove myself correct at the moment."

"Well?" she asked.

"'Well,' what?"

"Well, how did it happen?"

I shuffled my feet nervously. "That's the thing- I don't know."

"So, you woke up one morning and said to yourself, 'Gee, I guess I got turned into a kirby somehow last night'?"

"Not…exactly…"

"Well, how did it happen then?"

"I was attacked or something. The details are kinda foggy, so I'm afraid I don't have any specifics."

I listened to the absolute quiet on the other end, only broken when I heard a whisper-quiet breath be drawn or breathed out.

It was then, during the moments of quiet, that I noticed how intently the man was staring at me. And it was then that I noticed how hungry I was.

I stared at the camera, still hanging in the corner of my space.

"Hey," I asked the man, "can you put this on speaker phone?"

"Sure." He pushed a button and I heard the phone make a clicking noise.

"Hey, Rheanna, you still there?" I called from a few steps away.

"Yeah."

Good. The voice was still loud.

I looked up at the camera and frowned. My stomach growled again, louder this time.

I stared for some time, occasionally answering the "Hello?"s or "Are you there?"s with a brief "Yes."

I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn't know how to go about it. That was why it was taking so long.

"…What _are_ you doing, anyways?" she asked.

"Be quiet. It's taking longer than I thought it would."

"Okay, I guess…" She sounded reluctant.

I was just about to tell her that I was about to show her, when I was distracted by a faint noise.

"What's that?" I asked myself.

"What's what?" Rheanna asked back. "I don't hear anything."

I pressed my side against the bars and gave the noise my full attention.

_Yes… It seems to be getting closer… What kind of noise is it, anyways?_

After a few seconds of careful listening, I could make out that the noise was made up of several little noises. The loudest was fairly low, but all the others were higher by varying degrees, and seemed to randomly get quieter or louder.

_It's close by now,_ I realized. _It must be moving really fast. Is it…just on the other side of th-?_

My thoughts were interrupted as an object smashed through the wall and kept on going, getting closer to me with every moment.

I had to wait for the rubble to clear in order for me to see what shape it was. All I could tell for a few moments was that whatever it was was shiny and had lots of warm colors.

_It's a… It's a…_

My mind stuttered as I tried to believe what I was seeing.

"Emily, what just happened?" Rheanna asked me from the phone that was still on the floor.

"A…_star_ just crashed through the wall, I think."

"A star? What kind of star? A big flaming ball of gas?"

The star was going to take the cage head-on.

In an instant, I grabbed the phone in both hands, hugged it close to myself, curled up into a little ball shape, and braced myself for the crash right before it came.

The metal bars snapped like toothpicks, and I felt something very hot and hard ram past me and crash through the solid steel table and into the floor, where it abruptly stopped.

Whatever it was, it was lodged in the floor now.

It was a flattish star shape, in a gently glowing yellow. It was around three feet wide from tip to tip. I could only see one side of it from where I was.

And then I heard a muffled voice, and it wasn't coming from the phone. However, a muffled noise from the phone happened not long afterwards.

"Mmmf mmumm mmwah?"

I carefully returned myself to a normal position and held out the phone.

"What?" I asked with my mouth too close to the receiver.

"Don't shout."

I turned off the speakerphone and cradled the phone to the left side of my head.

"What did you say?"

"What was that?"

"Oh, the big crashing noise?"

"Yes, that."

"The star crashed into the cage." I looked over to where it was fixed in the ground. "And…"

"And?" she asked.

"And I thought I heard it make a noise."

"What kind?"

"Like there's…something there. Some_one_."

The line went silent, and I reached over to push the speakerphone button again.

"I'm going to investigate."

I climbed down, getting small cuts whenever something sharp brushed past me. I jumped onto the ground and called back up to the phone, "Can you still hear me?"

"Yeah," I heard very clearly.

I made my way to the glowing object, occasionally leaping over small broken fragments that littered the floor.

One large chunk of drywall was particularly difficult, and I had to carefully scale its rough broken surface.

As I got there, I felt my breath leave me. Whatever it was, it gave me a feeling of celestial awe.

The object itself seemed to be made of an unknown material. It glittered like stardust but looked as hard as some sort of metal. Though it had caused the crash, I could see no damage done to it. Whatever it was had torn rather violently through steel and glass with not even a scratch.

I heard the noise again, this time a bit softer and higher pitched.

And then I felt something. It was rather like a feeling, but I couldn't quite put my hand on what it was.

As I approached, the feeling got stronger, but I still could not distinguish exactly what it was.

It seemed like curiosity mixed with something else, more difficult to detect.

I shook my head back and forth and took a step closer.

"What's going on, Emily?" I heard from a few feet back and up.

I didn't answer, for I was much too curious about this object.

I slowly advanced forward, until I could feel the smooth surface of the unidentified object _that had seemed to be flying before it crashed._

I poked my face out around the side, and another face poked out from the opposite side.

I drew it back, and so did the other.

I stuck out my left hand, and a hand stuck itself out.

I grabbed the hand, and it grabbed mine.

I stood still looking at the thing I had got a hold of.

_A hand, no doubt,_ I thought to myself.

It was like mine, besides being a little bit thicker and having a completely different color.

I released the hand, and it released mine.

I stuck out my left foot, and a foot stuck itself out from the other side.

I withdrew my foot, and it did the same.

I turned around and stepped out.

I felt a back touch mine.

Then, on a spur of the moment, I yelled "Aha!" and spun around.

I was met by another face, but it had not yelled "Aha!"

This time neither of us withdrew, and we just stared at each other.

The face blinked before I did, and by that time I had carefully noted down the features on it.

_Two large eyes of the deepest blue, red blushing cheeks and a small line of a mouth._

The skin color was, undoubtedly, pink.

I fell over, but was not copied.

The face I had been studying now seemed to be studying me with a mixture of confusion and concern.

Then, in a voice so low that I almost didn't catch the words, the face asked, "Are you alright?"

I didn't respond: Partially because I didn't want to, partially because it was in a different language, but _mostly_ because despite the previous fact, I could understand the words even better than English- which was odd in itself because I was _only_ fluent in English, and this was most definitely _not_.

The face, as well as the round body belonging to it, moved closer to me. Its hands grabbed my arms and slowly pulled me upright, where I felt inclined to stare for a little bit.

The face repeated, gentler now, "Are you ok?"

The voice was high-pitched but undoubtedly male. It could only be the voice of a little boy.

"Who are you?" I asked, loud enough that my voice carried to the phone still on speakerphone several feet away.

The face frowned. "Oh… I thought I hadn't seen you before. Who are you?"

"You first," I told him. "I asked you first."

"Oh." This seemed to surprise the face. "My name's Kirby. Now it's your turn to introduce yourself."

"Kirby," I asked, now releasing his hands and stepping back, "what do you do for a living?"

"Huh?" he asked, puzzled. "You mean, like a job or something?"

"Yeah." I nodded, face bobbing up and down.

He shrugged, shoulderless arms rising up in a confused manner. "Oh, I dunno. I've tried a lot of jobs, but I'm not very good at any of them." He laughed, and then added, "I'd never be able to be a farmer! It takes too long to grow the crops. I'd end up eating the seeds."

I giggled a little bit. "Well, my name is-"

I stopped talking as I heard a small rustle from behind me.

I glanced over to where the polite young man was lying. There were large pieces of metal and drywall shrapnel next to him, and he appeared to be unconscious. I thought I saw him twitch, but I couldn't be sure.

"Hmm," I thought aloud, "shouldn't we be leaving soon? Like, before he gets up?"  
Kirby walked over to where to man was still lying.

"Fall down go boom?" he asked.

"Sure, sure…" I answered, distracted.

While I wasn't paying attention, Kirby floated over the man and stood on his chest.

"Hi?" he asked the unconscious figure.

And the man stirred.

Kirby's feet were planted firmly as the man's eyes flickered open.

He stared for a little bit, and Kirby stared back, equally fascinated.

Then the man found his voice.

"GAH!" he yelled, scrambling to get up with the "thing" sitting on his chest. Kirby rolled off easily, and sat on the floor next to him, bewildered.

The man stood up, finally, and looked around.

I looked back at him in alarm. My body didn't know how to feel: My hands were trembling but my feet were standing firmly on the floor, but at the same time, my mouth was puzzled.

"Hey," Rheanna called from far away, "what's going on?"

I was quiet for a few moments. "…I…I don't know? Kirby is here, but I think we might have to go soon… But don't worry; I'll contact you as soon as I possibly can."

I was rooted in place, my eyes on the tall one.

He was quite surprised when he saw all the damage. He shifted his gaze over to me, though, when he realized that I had escaped from the horrible crate.

"Did you do this?" His words were slow and measured, but his expression was that of shock.

"No, sir." I moved my arms behind my back and looked up at him earnestly.

His gaze locked onto mine.

"But…what will I do with the whole room ruined like this? My peers will be arriving any second, and-"

The door swung open just then, squeaking on its hinges.

Kirby and I seemed to have our feet bolted to the floor.

"Professor Makenberi, what's the meaning of this?"

The man who had entered looked most like a snowy owl, with tufts of white hair, big glasses, a round belly, and a white coat that covered him from head to toe. He was short, too, with shoes that were an orange-tan.

He pointed his beakish nose around the room, peering at everything that was wrong with a cynical look.

He frowned when his gaze landed on the 3-foot wide yellow star that was embedded into the metal floor.

"What happened here, Makenberi? Explain yourself!"

Makenberi dusted off his clothes and tried his best to look professional in front of this intimidating figure.

"With all respect, sir, I don't know."

"You don't know? How could you not know? Were you sleeping again?"

"No, sir. I saw this object crash through the wall, but after that, my memory just blanks out." He pointed at the star.

Finally, the owl man looked at me.

"What's it doing outsi-" he started to say, but he stopped when he saw the figure in the background.

"Two of them? How can you manage to mess up this badly?"

"Sir, I don't know. I don't know anymore than what I already told you."

"Did the other one come from that thing in the floor?"

"I don't know, but it seems likely."

"Well," the short man said, while adjusting his red bowtie, "you had better get two more holding pens for these ones. We need to know what they are."

Kirby and I stared at each other at the same time, and we shared the same idea.

Kirby started running first, his feet moving swiftly. I quickly followed, but I was much more clumsy and tripped over a small piece of rubble.

I got up as quick as I could and kept on running, closing my eyes and trying to make a beeline to the Warpstar.

I clutched a point with my left hand and held on, panting slightly and trying to climb the rest of the way on.

I kept slipping. Whenever my other hand would reach for it, it would slide right off of the slick surface.

I tried scrambling onto it and locking my feet between points, but I almost fell off all the way.

I could hear several people following.

I locked my arms firmly around a point and closed my eyes. I could feel a rumble. My feet were no longer touching the floor, and I somehow managed to tighten my grip further.

I gave a small shout as something caught on my foot. With the Warpstar going one way and my feet being pulled the other way, I was not feeling very good. I felt my body stretch slightly. It was starting to hurt. I loosened my grip for just a second, and finally only one force was pulling on me. There was a problem with this, however; I was no longer attached to the Warpstar. I opened my eyes and flailed my arms, only to watch it get farther and farther away.

"Come back!" I yelled.

Kirby's face peeked out from behind a tip of the Warpstar, and I saw his expression turn to panic.

I frantically pushed against the thing that was holding me with my free foot. I pushed with all my might.

No luck. I put my hands down by my feet, felt the warm hands holding my left ankle, and then pushed as hard as I could against the invading hand.

I pushed and pushed and pushed until I was out of breath. Then, I took another breath and pushed some more.

The Warpstar had halted some distance away from the hole in the wall, and it stayed there, hovering.

Finally, I popped my foot free and scrambled in the air, swatting exhaustedly at it to keep my feet from being caught again.

I landed on the ground with a bounce, and after a short moment's rest, I leaped back to my feet and started running for the far end of the room. I was running so fast that I felt like I was flying, with my feet barely touching the ground because of how fast they moved.

My energy was nearly depleted, though, and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep any kind of pace for long, especially at such a frantic scramble.

I tripped over my own feet and fell down, but as my body started rolling forward I got back to my feet and was off again.

I somehow managed to leap over countless obstacles and yet still keep a breakneck speed.

I didn't know how I was still running. I was thoroughly exhausted, and the concept of sleep was growing ever more tempting. My arms were sore from pushing so hard. My feet were moving faster than I would have imagined possible…but I was getting tired, and I felt like all my energy could run out at any moment.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I reached the wall. The Warpstar drifted closer and as I got ever closer I tensed my body for the jump.

Like a spring, I soared through the air and far beyond the edges of the wall. I felt the brisk evening air surrounding me on all sides, and it felt so very very good. I closed my eyes for a moment, hoping to rest…

However, when I opened them, a few moments later, I was alarmed to find that I was still falling through the air, and the sidewalk below was getting larger by the instant.

What had gone wrong now? Hadn't I leaped out close enough to the Warpstar? Where was Kirby when you needed him? Why wasn't he here? Why wasn't I with him?

My serenity gone, I began flailing crazily through the air, as if I could beat gravity and stop myself from advancing toward the pavement.

Then, I heard the twinkling noise. It grew louder and louder until it filled my head and hurt my ears. It was almost unbearable.

But then, I suddenly wasn't crashing towards the street anymore. I saw traffic going on below me, but it wasn't getting any closer. If anything, it was getting farther away.

Two hands were holding onto my foot. Two small, warm hands. Two hands without fingers. Two pink hands.

"What?" I asked, flabbergasted. "What's going on?"

I felt my foot being pulled upwards, until I was finally hefted onto the wide surface of the Warpstar.

I suddenly grew quiet.

In a small voice, I finally said, "It's been a rough day. Can I just go home now? …Please?"

"Oh, I'm sorry… Sure, I've been meaning to go home from here." He looked at the horizon. The sun was still high in sky.

"We should be able to get back before dark, I think. I might as well hurry, so do me a favor and hold on tight. It would be bad if you fell off."

I was finally able to lock my feet around a point, and my hands tried to clench themselves to the slick wide surface that I was lying on.

"There's no need to do that, Blu."

"What?" I asked, quickly unlocking my feet and sitting down just like he was.

"I said that you don't need to hang on that tight. I never have to."

"No-no-no, I heard that alright. What was that last bit? Did you call me…Blu?"

"Sure I did, Blu."

"Thing is, no one's ever called me that before."

"Why not? It's your name, right?"

I sighed. "Whatever. I don't know how you came to that conclusion, but I'm too tired to argue right now… Just take me home…"

"Sure."

I closed my eyes, leaned back, and sighed a great big sigh.

"Rough day?"

I nodded.

And with that, we continued our speedy journey back home.


	5. Ch 4: Landing

As we sped along, I saw that I had been in the Northeastern United States, probably somewhere near New York. I'd never been this far northeast before. I was a midwestern girl who had lived in he suburbs all my life. Being so close to the ocean was a crazy notion to me. I'd only been to one real beach all my life, and that had been in Florida, where my skin got sunburned and I caught a clear crab. It was so long ago, though, that I could barely remember it.

However, I did know one thing; to get inland from the East Coast, you had to go west. We had been going east for a while before we got far enough for me to realize that we were getting closer to the ocean.

"Kirby! Stop! You're going the wrong way!" I kept telling him.

"No we're not," he kept insisting.

After about an hour of this, I decided he wasn't going to listen. I shut my mouth and decided to enjoy the view while we drifted off-course.

We passed the Statue of Liberty after an hour or three, and after that we were surrounded by ocean on all sides.

The air over the ocean was much cleaner than that dirty New York City air that we had been breathing in for a while. I breathed in deeper. The air was crisp and cool, like freshly washed lettuce. It felt good, just breathing in. It made me happy.

After a while, it got so I didn't much care _where_ we were going, so long as we reached land before nightfall and found somewhere safe to eat dinner and rest for the night. It could all turn out to be a grand adventure. The thought of adventure made me eager to keep going, and every once in a while I turned to Kirby and smiled.

"So," I asked after a long while. "Where are we headed?"

"Home, silly," he replied.

"…Are we planning on making a full circuit around the planet?"

"That would be silly. We're taking the shortest route, I promise! I know exactly where we're going. You can't miss it."

"Sure," I said rather mildly.

It took a few hours, but after traveling for quite a distance, I spotted land.

"That's it! Land here!" I shouted, unsure of what I meant by "here".

"I told you you'd know it when you saw it," he said back.

We flew high over an island shaped like a starfish and slowly declined.

We spiraled downwards, ever going slower. I could see genuine palm trees below, as well as expansive sandy beaches. I guessed that there must have been a tropical forest, because I saw the tops of trees everywhere.

As we got closer, I shut my eyes, preparing for a crash-landing.

It came a few minutes later. We crashed into the sand of an extensive beach on the western half of the island.

The sand was everywhere. It was beautiful. I hadn't seen such fine white sand since I was three or four.

I hopped off the star and quickly shook the sand off of myself. I could hear the ocean's rhythmic pounding behind me.

The sparkling sand was dazzling. As I turned around, I saw my first ocean sunset.

My jaw literally dropped.

A blazing orange circle dipped below the faraway sea, and the whole distant ocean glowed red and purple.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

"So beautiful…" one of us said.

Then, after such a dazzling finale to the day, Kirby turned to me.

"It's getting late," he said. "I'll go show you where you can sleep, and then I'll go get some food for the two of us."

My stomach growled.

_I haven't eaten all day, have I?_ I mused to myself.

It was hard to believe that I hadn't even realized this before now.

I banished the thought.

"So, where do we sleep?" I asked him.

"Let me show you," he said, starting to walk further inland.

"JUST A MINUTE!"

The voice came out of nowhere.

"Halt, I say, HALT!"

Kirby stopped in his tracks.

"Where do _you two_ think _you're_ going?"


	6. Ch 5: Newcomer

From the darkness of a palm tree's shadow stepped someone just as tall as Kirby, but with different features. He was a foresty green color with rustic orange feet and cheeks. His blue eyes were dark and yet seemed to glow at the same time.

"So…" he started, "where are _you_ going?"

Kirby noticeably disliked this man. I saw the start of a scowl forming on the side of his mouth. "We're just headed home," he explained, his voice steady but lower than normal.

"Who's the chick?"

My face grew hot. I wasn't liking him any better than Kirby was.

"This is my friend, Blu," Kirby explained.

"Blu, huh? Stupid name."

"It's her name."

"It's one of your stupid nicknames again, right?" He turned to me. "What's your name?"

I stayed silent.

"Not much of a talker, is she?"

By this time, I realized that this new person was actually speaking English. I couldn't believe it.

"Say," the green one pondered out loud, "come to think of it, I don't remember seeing this one before."

"She's new."

"New?"

"Yeah. You heard me."

"How do you know she's not a demon or a spy?"

"She's my friend."

"Hmm, a lot of evidence that is. I've seen you make friends with grass before."

"I found her. She needed help."

"Oh, really? Well, how do you know that she was in any danger?"

Kirby hesitated. "They tried to take her away from me."

"It could all be an elaborate hoax, you know," The green one said. "If what I've heard is correct, Nightmare's back…with new minions. How do you know she's not one of them?"

My eyes widened.

_Nightmare? Back? Minions? What's going on here?_

"I trust her," Kirby replied.

"Well, I don't."

"You should trust her. She's a good person."

The green one smiled. "Uh-huh. Well, I can trust her…"

Kirby looked surprised until he heard the end of his sentence.

"…That is, as long as I find her to be trustworthy."

"And how will you do that?" Kirby asked.

"Oh, I know a way…" He smiled again, but I was learning to not trust his smile.


	7. Ch 6: Jail Bird

"Hey there," said a male voice.

I glanced up at the guard in front of my cell. His skin was a cheery nectarine color, a bright yellow-orange. His cherry red feet added to his friendly expression. I vaguely noticed that his eyes were a bright blue. It seemed to come standard here, as well as height. He spoke Kirbish as well, which I gathered was the norm. Skin colors, however, were a completely different matter altogether. I was pretty sure by now that every color of the rainbow (and then some) was possible to find.

I grunted a reply as I tried to get comfortable on the packed-sand floor. My habitation was entirely blank. No windows, no bed, no food or water: Beside myself, the room was completely empty. The wrought-iron bars in front of me looked very sturdy and well made. The door was a completely different style, though, so I assumed that all the metal used here was scrap metal.

"How are you doing?" the guard asked.

"Not well," I replied.

He looked concerned. "Why not?"

"Well, for one, I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry about that."

"And, secondly, I haven't eaten all day."

"Oh." The guard was quiet for a short while. Then, "Why not?"

"Because my day was very hectic today. You can't imagine what happened."

"…Okay."

It was quiet for a few minutes more.

"Say…" I began.

"Hmm?" the guard asked.

"…You couldn't get me something to eat, could you?"

He hesitated before answering. "I don't know."

I looked up at the leafy ceiling. "Could you find out for me?"

He shrugged. "Sure, sure. I'll go ask Mr. Judas."

"Judas?" I asked.

"Yeah. He's the green guy. He says he's an elder or something, so he's in charge of this place."

"An unfortunate name," I remarked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Here, I'm going to go ask him if you can have something to eat. I'll be right back. You won't try to escape, will you?"

"No, of course not. I don't think I could get out of here if I tried…and I'm much too tired to try."

"Good!" he said happily, as he skipped off.

I waited several minutes before he returned.

"Oh good, you're still here!" he said as he came back.

"What did the Judas say?" I asked him.

The peachy guard thought for a bit. "I think he said… Umm…" His foot tapped on the floor. "I think he said…'No.'"

"Oh."

There was another period of silence.

The guard looked guilty.

"Say…" he began, his voice growing quiet. "Say, what do you think if I gave you something to eat anyway? You wouldn't tell anyone, would you?"

"Tell anyone? Of course not! We'd both get in trouble for that," I replied back, my voice dropping as well.

The guard smiled thoughtfully. "How would you like some bread?"

"I'd like that very much. Have you got any?"

His smile grew. "No, but I _just might_ know where to get some…" He looked around before continuing. "Stay here. I'm going to be right back. If anyone asks, don't tell them where I went."

"…Okay."

"By the way," the guard added, "my name's Nathaniel. Isn't your name Blu?"

"Sure."

He nodded. "Alright, Blu. Well, I'll be seeing you again soon. Don't leave when I'm gone, okay?"

"A promise is a promise. I'll be right here when you come back."

Nathaniel smiled, and then walked off.

"Nice guy…" I commented to myself. "A bit weird, but he seems like a genuine nice guy."

He was back in only a few minutes.

"Hey again," he said to me as he came near.

"Hello Nathaniel," I greeted him.

He was smiling again. "Guess what I got!"

I pretended to not know. "A promotion?"

His grin got wider. "No, silly! I got you some bread!"

"That's even better, isn't it?"

His eyes shone with happiness. "You bet it is."

I was smiling now, too. "Give 'er here, Nathan."

He shoved three loaves through the bars.

"Wow!" I exclaimed under my breath. "Nathan, you hit the jackpot here!"

I smelled the bread. "Is this whole wheat rye? Nathan, where on Earth did you get this?"

Nathan leaned in closer. "Well, just between you and me, I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows that Judas has some good food. My friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend told his friend-of-my-friend how to get in without being seen, and that friend-of-my-friend told my friend it, and my friend told me!"

"Nathan, you are truly awesome. Thanks a lot, man."

"It's nothing. I never really wanted to be a guard anyway, but since there's hardly ever anyone to guard anyway, I get so much time off! Why, you're only the second person to ever get put in a cell here."

I was digging into the bread by now, but I stopped just long enough to ask a question. "Who was the first?"

Nathaniel looked up at the ceiling as he thought.

"Hmm… Let's see… What was his name again…? Kitty? No, that's not it. Karen? No, that's a girl's name. He thought for a little bit more. It started with a 'K', that's all I remember. He was…pink, if I remember."

"Kirby?" I asked.

He nodded. "That's the one!"

"Hmm," I mused between mouthfuls. "He must really not get along with Judas well. What did he do, anyway?"

I continued eating as Nathaniel replied.

"Hmm, I'm a bit fuzzy on that… It was a while ago, no doubt. Hmm. I think it must have been when we first colonized."

I looked up at him. "Colonized?"

"Yeah, you remember that bit, right?"

"No. I'm the new kid, remember?"

"Oh, right. Well, it couldn't have been any more than a couple weeks ago, but it feels like years to me. One day, we woke up, and we were on this island. It was much more bare than it is now. As we walked along, the first living creature we encountered was Judas."

I stopped eating again. "Judas lived here?"

"Yeah, he's been here for a while. We just kind of found him there, with a hut all built and everything. In fact…if I remember correctly, when we first found him, we was practicing his sword-fighting skills. He was very flashy and impressive, as I recall."

"How long had he been living here?"

Nathaniel shrugged. "Who knows? He could have been living here for years, but he hasn't told us any of that. No, the only thing he did say was that he was our elder, and that since he had built the first house and he was our elder, that he should be in charge of this place."

"No one felt that that was wrong?" I asked.

"Kirby did. He never did like Judas. In fact, that's the very reason why this place was built." He shrugged. "I guess Judas and Kirby have a rivalry or something. It can't be about who's the elder because I myself am actually older than him."

"Oh, really?" I had finished eating by now, and I wiped a few loose crumbs off my mouth. "How old are you?"

"Hmm… 18? I don't really keep track. I think Kirby is…14 now? I dunno. It was really weird when we first met him, though. He and Judas both act like they're from another world sometimes."

"Hmm…" I pondered to myself as I made myself comfortable on the hard ground. "Well, I'm getting sleepy now. I'll see you in the morning, Nathaniel."

"Good night, Blu."


	8. Ch 7: Free at Last

When I woke up the next morning, I could see the sunlight shining through gaps in the green palm leaves above.

I yawned, stretched, and blinked profusely as I took in my surroundings.

_Oh, that's right… Cage. I'm in jail, right?_

As I looked around, I couldn't find Nathaniel.

_Where is he?_

I stared at the bars in front of me, but he didn't seem to be slumped against them, sleeping, like I would have expected.

Just then, I heard a creaking noise coming from the far wall. I looked up just in time to see the door opening. I couldn't tell who it was yet. The sunlight masked the character in shadow, so all I could see was the black outline. That didn't help much.

"Who is it?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the light as the figure moved out of the doorway.

…I could see them now, but it wasn't someone that I had met yet.

Even though she had the same outline as everyone else, I couldn't help but think of her as sleek. In the brightness of the early morning glare, I hadn't been able to see the brightly glowing halo floating above her head.

Her skin was a creamy but pure white. Her cheeks were the colors of highlighters, her feet were a sunny yellow, and her eyes were a very lively blue color that sparkled like sunlight being reflected off of a pool.

"Hello," she said, in an angelic voice.

I immediately wished that my voice would sound like that.

She smiled warmly as she skipped lightly towards me.

I immediately envied her more.

She walked all the way up to the iron bars that separated us, and then stopped, turned on her heel a crisp forty-five degrees, and looked me in the face.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Call me Merry," said Merry. "And I take it that you are Blu?"

I nodded. "Sure, sure."

"I've heard about you."

"Already?" I groaned, "I didn't even do anything yet!"

"No-no-no, not in that way. Kirby told me about you."

"Oh," I said, surprised, "did he?"

She nodded. "Yes, he did."

"What did he say about me?"

She shrugged. "Not much, to tell the truth. He said where he found you and what your name was, but that's all." She frowned for a moment. "He never did say where you actually came from. He just said that you were 'new'."

"Well," I said, "he never asked me where I was from."

"Someone ought to ask you, and I guess it's me." She paused quietly before continuing. "Alrighty then, where are you from? And please don't tell me 'here'. That's all I hear in this bloody place."

"I really am from here, though."

"Mmhmm. Don't pull my wings, Blu: Tell me the truth."

"Well, I'm not from this island, but I'm from a continent not too far west from here."

"Where were you born?"

"Midwestern United States."

Her face went blank.

"Never heard of it?" I smiled to myself. "I wouldn't be surprised."

Her face lit up again. "Oh! I've heard of it! I'm just surprised."

She sat on a nearby stool and thought for a minute.

"So…" she began, "you have any family there?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Two parents and some brothers. You know, a typical family unit."

"You'd be surprised how much it varies."

She turned away from me so all I could see was her back and started messing around with something.

On her back was a pair of small feathery wings that looked like they had been plucked off of a baby angel.

I was jealous again.

But then, I heard the clink of ceramics. Merry quickly turned around and shoved something through the bars.

I grabbed a hold of a mug and sniffed at the warm contents. It smelled like tea.

I took a cautious sip, and all jealousy was forgotten.

Yep. I was drinking a tasty herbal tea.

Merry herself cradled a large cup in her hands and sipped from it every now and then.

"I figured you needed something for your nerves. It's got to be pretty stressful, what with all you've been through since you got here."

I took a big gulp of the scalding hot lemony tea and nodded.

It was quiet for a few relaxing minutes, save for a few quiet slurps. It felt good to be able to unwind. The tea helped, too.

Merry cleared her throat softly, and I looked up.

"So…"

I took another sip. "What?"

She looked up at the ceiling for a bit before she continued. "So, if you have a family, then are there more of us here?"

I smiled a little bit into my mug. "Nah."

"But your family…?"

"I don't resemble my family in any way besides lack of grace and personality."

"…Ah." Merry took a large sip, but her cup was empty.

"Want some more?" she asked, showing me an old cracked teapot.

"Sure." I was beginning to like her.

I squeezed my arm through the bars with the mug, waited as she carefully filled it, and withdrew my hand back inside the cell.

Merry poured herself another cup.

"Adopted, are you?" she asked cautiously.

I took a long drink before answering.

"No."

"Not adopted? Then how…?"

"I heard Judas say something about Nightmare being back," I interrupted, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "What did he mean by that?"

Merry frowned. "I'd rather not talk about that, but I suppose you ought to hear…"

There was a long pause before she continued.

"Well, we haven't found any proof yet. Judas was the one who brought it up, which is kind of why we trust him. Myself, I haven't seen head or tail of him… yet."

"So, Nightmare is _here_?"

Merry nodded. "According to Judas, yes, Nightmare is near this planet; possibly even on it."

"You mean the huge billowy guy, right? With the huge chin?"

She nodded.

"Bah," I said. "I was hoping I'd already gone through the worst of this."

Merry looked thoughtful. "Well, he shouldn't be all that huge…yet. That last barrage really weakened him. I thought for sure he was a goner that time. I think we're making a dent, though: Every time he comes back, he's a little bit weaker and it takes him longer to get his power back up."

"Why are you here, anyway?"

Merry frowned. "What, don't you like my tea? I just wanted to say hello."

I shook my head. "No, I like your tea! I just wondered how all of you people got here."

"Oh, that's a tricky one." Merry thought for a moment. Then she pulled out a sandwich from behind her and thought some more.

"I was in my house, when I heard a huge commotion. So I went outside, and Nathaniel told me that Kirby had fallen down a hole and everyone was trying to figure out how to get him out again. I followed him to where the hole was, and…well…it was something unexpected. There was a gap in the air! A big hole of nothingness, right next to his house!

"Naturally, everyone was worried. No one was quite sure what to do, as this wasn't a hole you could just throw a rope down. Keeby is Kirby's best friend, and so he decided to be the hero and jump through to rescue him.

"We all waited for Keeby or Kirby to come back, but there was neither sight nor sound of anything inside the hole. Eventually Keeby's friends decided to jump in and rescue the both of them, but they didn't come back either. So then the friends' friends jumped in, and then their friends jumped in, and it kept on going on until I decided to jump in too." Merry shuddered a little bit.

"That hole was the weirdest thing I've ever been through. It was like a huge tunnel. I was squeezed all over with this weird pressure for what felt like decades before I finally came out the other side…here."

Merry laughed. "That's where everyone was! I landed on top of a huge pile, and let me tell you, I was so glad to be out of that hole! No one seemed hurt, so we decided to look around…and we found Judas. He already had a big ol' house on one corner of the island.

"He was a bit surprised to see us at first. In fact, he ran right inside his house! But he came out a couple hours later, and he set us to work. We learned how to build huts and Judas learned to build a wall around the fruit plants!"

"Wow!" I remarked. "That's fascinating!"

Merry nodded. "Want a sandwich?"

She turned around and pulled out a few sandwiches, which she quietly stuffed between the bars.

"So," she said, "what's your story?"

"Me?" I asked, quickly stuffing a sandwich into my mouth.

"Yes, you. You're the only other person here."

"Will you promise to try to believe me? It's kind of an unbelievable story."

"Sure, sure. You have my word, however good my word may be."

She seemed trustworthy enough. "I guess I've got to tell someone, sooner or later…"

"Well, go on. I'm listening." Merry looked straight at me.

I looked over to the doorway for a moment.

"I'd hate to sound clichéd, but I'm not who you think I am."

"And who are you?"

"Well, who do _you_ think I am?"

Merry thought for a bit. "I dunno… You could have come out of one of those weird holes years ago and have no memory of it. You could be proof that this is our homeland, but…"

"But?"

"But I don't believe that. No, everything is too weird here."

I shrugged. "Whatever. You're not right, though."

"Well, you told me so before I told you what I thought. …And now are you going to actually _tell_ me who you are?"

"Yeah. I'm just…procrastinating."

"I can see that."

"But now I'm starting."

"Good."

"Alright. I'm gonna tell you."

Merry frowned. "Then tell me."

I sighed. "Fine. Well, have you ever seen a human?"

She looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "A human? Hmmm…I can't remember. Maybe not."

"Bah, I guess it doesn't really matter…but you'll see them someday. Most places you go are packed with them."

"Ah."

"They're quite tall, which is probably the first thing you'll notice."

"Oh. But wait, what does this have to do with…?"

"I used to be one of those."

"Oh. …Now I see…?" Merry looked puzzled.

"Yeah."

"So you've lived here all your life, then?"

"On this planet, yes."

"Okay. But, umm, how did you…?"

"I'm getting to that," I interrupted.

"Well, how _did_ it happen?"

"Well… That's the thing: I'm not really sure."

Merry cocked her body to one side and made a funny face at me. "How could that be?"

"Well… I have this big blank spot in my memory from when it happened."

"Oh. So what happened before that?"

I shuddered, remembering. "Ugh. The night it happened, I was sleeping. I was having this terrible nightmare where this evil-sounding voice was talking to me and telling me these horrible, horrible things. I woke up and there was this huge…_thing_ over me. It looked human, but its eyes… They were pupil-less and blood red, narrow slits." I shuddered again. "It was just so unnatural… And then…" I closed my eyes, straining to remember. "And then… Umm, I think I blacked out then. And, when I woke up, I was…like this."

Merry looked surprised. "Oh."

"Not what you expected, right?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all. But…"

"'But…'?"

She shook her head again. "Nothing."

There was a rather awkward silence for a few minutes. Merry looked at the floor while I look at the ceiling, both trying to think of something to say. I started to try to draw pictures in the dirt with my hands, but the dirt was too firmly packed.

Merry spoke first. "It seems to me that you must have had a first-hand encounter with Nightmare. It would explain the bad dream, the horrible voice, and the huge evil-looking creature you saw."

"…I suppose so…"

The silence returned for a few more long minutes. I considered rolling in the dirt to pass the time.

"So, this is all kind of new to you, isn't it?" Merry finally asked.

"Yes, it's all a bit weird."

"…How long has it been?"

"Huh?" I looked confused.

"How long have you been like this?"

"Umm…only a week or two."

"Oh." Merry looked side-to-side before adding, "I bet I could get you out of here."

I was surprised. "You? How?"

"Well, I happen to be the closest thing to a doctor in this place, and I do have a certain position above the others."

"Why's that?"

"Oh, just because Judas seeks me whenever he doesn't feel good."

"Ah."

"And with my larger power and authority, I bet I could persuade him to relea-"

All of sudden, the door slammed open. Merry and I instantly stopped what we were doing and looked at the now open doorway. It was Judas.

"Merry," he said, striding forward with long, slow steps, "what exactly are you doing?"

Merry quickly shoved her mug behind her back. "Just getting the prisoner to confess, sir."

"…And you're making her confess by talking over tea and sandwiches? Your actions do not fit your words. A prisoner will never reveal secrets unless they fear their own demise. Sitting together and knitting while making tinkley laughter will not cause a villain to spill their secrets."

Merry stood at attention. "With all due respect, sir, the captive has not eaten for at least two days. I thought it only suitable to provide nourishment to keep the suspect alive."

Judas smiled maliciously. "Merry, if we keep the criminal safe and comfy, they will never fear death, and thus, never feel obliged to tell their secrets."

Merry bit her lip. "Well, sir, a dead hostage will never spill her secrets. Besides, it's not like I haven't learned things from her already."

Judas immediately looked serious. "Tell me." I thought I saw his eyes flash.

Merry looked at me. "No, not here. It isn't the time, nor the place. Later, I will tell you."

Judas made a sad face.

"I don't see why you can't tell me right now."

Merry stammered just a little bit. "W-with all due respect, Judas, sir, I fail to see Blu here as a threat. She has done nothing wrong, and should be released as one of our equals. She has been through a lot of major trauma lately, and she needs some time to be able to relax and pull herself together."

Merry paused. "If you like, sir, I could keep an eye on her. Don't you trust me?"

Judas shook his head piteously. "Trust isn't the issue here- it's gullibility. Face facts, Merry- You are gullible, and I am not."

Merry looked pensive. "Look, if you would just give me a chance, I could show you that I am a good judge of character."

Judas looked thoughtful as well. "Well… I don't see why not, if she would be your responsibility- but I want nothing to do with this. Understand?"

Merry nodded. "So is she free to go?"

Judas shrugged. "Whatever you want. It's your problem now."

* * *

A/N: Woah! Has it really been a year since I last updated this story? I apologize profusely to everyone! Luckily it's summer as I'm writing this, and so hopefully the next chapter will take less than a year to get up on the site!


	9. Update

**UPDATE 10/1/11:**

Hey guys, I just thought I should tell you that I am absolutely not dead. I haven't been on much for the last...uh...year, and there are reasons for that.

I feel like I can't write anymore. It doesn't bring me the joy that it used to. I used to get an emotional high and be bursting with ideas, but I just do not get that anymore. I've realized that my true strength is in roleplaying. And it is because of roleplaying that I won't be continuing any of my fanfics. You see, most of my roleplays for the past year have been in the setting of my main fanfic. We had a group of about five, and the other people's characters just became essential to the story. And they're not my characters...and one of the guys with the most important characters I know wouldn't approve of me even mentioning him on here.

I really am sorry, guys. But if you'd like to roleplay with me or talk to me, I'm ~BluTehKirbyGirl on deviantART.

I'll be adding this note to the ends of all my fics, just so that all of you subscribed people see it and know what's going on.


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